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Patented Sept. 11,

'o 'u -uvxrhmlsfm 'www 'N UNITED STATES THEODORE F. OONKLIN, OF FONDy DULAC, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO FRANK A. KNAPP, OF SAME PLAGE.

' Box-l-'ASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,615, datedSeptember 11,1883.

` Applicaton'led July 5, 1883. N'.(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE F. CoNK- LIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fond du Lac, in the county-of Fond du Lac and Stateof Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Trunk-Bolt, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in trunk catches or bolts in whichspring-clasps on the outer front of the trunk fasten down the lid; andthe objects of my improvements are, rst, to provide an automatic andcertain adjustment of the hasp to the catch in closing, and, second, aready and simple. detachment of hasp and catch in opening the trunk. Iattain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the device on its reverse .0rinner side; Fig. 2, a view of the hasp, showing its lateral movement andengagement withguide; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional view, showing thedownward or inward pressure of the hasp in detaching.

Similar letters referto similar parts throughout the several views.

The spring-hasp A, catch B, and socketplates x y constitute theframe-work of the machine. The hasp A is a thin elongated plate, ofsteel or other elastic material, pivoted, at d, near the top, to theupper socket-plate, w, and provided with a socket or hole, b, near thebottom, for engaging with the catch B, and also notched in crescentformfa in one side, a short distance above b, for engaging with the lugC. The upper plate, w, is attached to the lid of the trunk, and incasesand hangs the hasp A. When the trunk is closed, it joins with the lowerplate, y, and it may be provided at its base with short tongues to enterthe lower socket, y, and secure the lid from lateral movement. The lowersocket-plate, y, is attached to the face of the trunk-body, near the topthereof, and meets the upper plate, x. This plate y is provided on theinside of its upper face with a catch, B, (beingA a pin or post set inthe plate,) engaging, when the trunk is closed, with the hasp-socket b,and also with a post or lug, @projecting opposite and toward the notch cin the hasp, and also with an opening, e, in its lower face. The

catch and lug respectively may be cast onto and in one piece with theplate y, or affixed as pins or posts set perpendicularly onto its innerfaces, either at upper or lower surface.

It is obvious that on closing the trunk the engagement of the socket bwith the catch B will bolt the lid to the body. To detach the hasp andvopen the trunk, a downward and lateral pressure of the finger isapplied through 6o the opening e to the lower part of the hasp A, asshown in Fig. 3, which pressure lifts the hasp-socket b off from and'moves it aside from the catch B sufficiently to detach the hasp and restit upon the catch, while the lug or post C enters the notch a and stopsthe lateral movement, as shown in Fig. 2. On raising the lid the post C,engaging with the curve of the notch a, throws hack the hasp to itsoriginal position, for engagement with the catch B when the trunk isclosed, and on closing the trunk the lugror post C will act as a guideto the hasp and automatically direct its socket b toits engagement withthe catch B. Y

I claim as equivalents the attachment of catch B to the hasp, andtherewith setting the catch into a socket adapted therefor in the platey,- also, making the hasp A of malleable iron or otherinelasticmaterial, and therewith pressing it to its bed on thesocket-plates x y by means of a spring.

Having thus shown the construction and op eration of my device, I claimas my invention-d The combination, in a trunk-catch, of the hasp A,elastic, or provided with a spring, pressing it to the plates x `Q/andprovided with socket-hole b and with notch a, the hasp being pivoted toplate x and oscillating later- `ally on its pivot d, the catch B, andthe post or lug C, which, engagingq with the curved notch a and with theledge of the hasp above and below the notch, in turn permits the lateralmovement of the hasp upon detaching it from the catch, and upon closingthe trunk guides the hasp to an automatic engagement of its socket-holeb with the catch B, substantially as described.

THEODORE F. OONKLIN.

Vitnesse's:

N. BOARDMAN, J. B. PERRY.

